During athletic activities such as skiing or swimming, it is challenging to have to carry facial tissue. For example, during skiing, it is difficult to remove gloves in the cold to pull facial tissues out of a pocket. Further, there are typically no trashcans available on a ski slope to dispose of the used facial tissues, thereby leading people to leave used facial tissues on the ground, which equates to pollution. Additionally, used facial tissues are loaded with potential infectious nasal secretions that typically harbor contagious bacteria and viruses. When a person blows his/her nose into a facial tissue or handkerchief and then throws it away or folds it up to put back into a pocket, infectious agents are spread and transmitted to others. Likewise, facial tissues cannot be carried during swimming—most people simply blow their noses into the swimming pool water, creating an unsanitary environment.
Furthermore, blowing nasal secretions from the nose creates a positive pressure in the Eustachian tubes that connect the nasal passages to the middle ears. This positive pressure can also force nasal secretions into the middle ears, creating a middle ear infection. Highly fragile tympanic membranes lie directly adjacent to the middle ears and can be easily damaged by middle ear positive pressure.